I think, as they often do, The AV Club put my opinion of 'Leatherheads' more concisely than I ever could. They say the following about the film:
"If amiability equaled greatness, Leatherheads would be destined to become a classic."
Nevertheless, I am very surprised at the largely negative reputation this film has and believe it to be somewhat underrated. Clooney's directorial filmography reads like a list of films I've always meant to get round to seeing and although Leatherheads was probably a rather odd place to start, I'd be more than happy to watch it again. It is a fun, zippy comedy with a slightly misplaced romantic subplot that dulls the film when it takes center stage in the second act. In addition to this, John Krasinski's character was evidently a nightmare for the screenwriters, as he is required to be almost a villain while also being actively likable and sympathetic. Although Rick Reilly (the film's scriptwriter) somewhat pulls this off, it's one of the more difficult balancing acts I've seen in a lighthearted comedy.
As I say, the film is at it's best when it's attention is away from Renee Zellwegger and the tired love triangle tropes. Obviously the high points of the film come during the interactions between Clooney and Krasinski and when the characters take to the field to actually play football. This may be somewhat unsurprising given my prior stated love of both screwball comedies and underdog sports movies, but I think I may be on the side of general consensus with that one. The AV Club's quote highlights the fact that this film is a lot of fun to watch and had me constantly smiling throughout, even if it was somewhat lacking in full- on gut laughs. There were a number of set pieces that just felt like a loving embracement of a kind of sweet wackiness at the film's core, and none more so than the film's final football match which is somewhat predictably the highlight.
But alas, the sting in the tail of that initial quote is still present too. Whilst I had a lot of fun watching Leatherheads I'd struggle to recommend that it'd be anyone's favourite movie. While it does most of what it does well it lacks lofty ambitions and mostly plays it's humour where it knows it is close to the surface. I'm confident that if it dug a little deeper the edges could've perhaps been sharper and the characters could've maybe been deeper. Were that the case we may have been looking at an extra half-star but as it is Leatherheads is a respectable, enjoyable film that I'd thoroughly encourage anyone to check out if they like watching a film to feel like they're being hugged by a time period.
"If amiability equaled greatness, Leatherheads would be destined to become a classic."
Nevertheless, I am very surprised at the largely negative reputation this film has and believe it to be somewhat underrated. Clooney's directorial filmography reads like a list of films I've always meant to get round to seeing and although Leatherheads was probably a rather odd place to start, I'd be more than happy to watch it again. It is a fun, zippy comedy with a slightly misplaced romantic subplot that dulls the film when it takes center stage in the second act. In addition to this, John Krasinski's character was evidently a nightmare for the screenwriters, as he is required to be almost a villain while also being actively likable and sympathetic. Although Rick Reilly (the film's scriptwriter) somewhat pulls this off, it's one of the more difficult balancing acts I've seen in a lighthearted comedy.
As I say, the film is at it's best when it's attention is away from Renee Zellwegger and the tired love triangle tropes. Obviously the high points of the film come during the interactions between Clooney and Krasinski and when the characters take to the field to actually play football. This may be somewhat unsurprising given my prior stated love of both screwball comedies and underdog sports movies, but I think I may be on the side of general consensus with that one. The AV Club's quote highlights the fact that this film is a lot of fun to watch and had me constantly smiling throughout, even if it was somewhat lacking in full- on gut laughs. There were a number of set pieces that just felt like a loving embracement of a kind of sweet wackiness at the film's core, and none more so than the film's final football match which is somewhat predictably the highlight.
But alas, the sting in the tail of that initial quote is still present too. Whilst I had a lot of fun watching Leatherheads I'd struggle to recommend that it'd be anyone's favourite movie. While it does most of what it does well it lacks lofty ambitions and mostly plays it's humour where it knows it is close to the surface. I'm confident that if it dug a little deeper the edges could've perhaps been sharper and the characters could've maybe been deeper. Were that the case we may have been looking at an extra half-star but as it is Leatherheads is a respectable, enjoyable film that I'd thoroughly encourage anyone to check out if they like watching a film to feel like they're being hugged by a time period.